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Telecom Argentina Upgraded At Morgan Stanley, Stock Up Over 2.5%

Shares of Telecom Argentina SA (ADR) (NYSE: TEO) traded higher on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to an Overweight rating from Equal Weight citing gains from lower capital cost and enhanced environment on pricing. Analysts Michel Morin and Diego Aragao have also increased their price objective from $18 to $23 on the stock.

The brokerage expects reduced capital costs through a debt-to-total-capital ratio of 35 percent and sees potential upside rewards of about 33 percent during the next one-year period. The lead analyst expects 30 percent to come from the price objective and the remaining from the estimated dividend.

"We are also raising our Bull Case valuation to US$41 from US$31 as we now include 50 percent of the US$1.2 billion of potential synergies from a hypothetical transaction between TEO and Cablevision. Finally, we also raise our Bear Case valuation to US$15 from US$14 to reflect the proposed tender offer at a price of A$46/share, equal to US$15/ADR at current FX rates," Morgan Stanley told clients in a research note.

Analysts pointed out that Argentina's macro-political environment has improved considerably. As a result, the brokerage sees Telecom Argentina gaining from predictable regulatory environment though challenges continue to remain in the short term.

The lead analyst indicated that Telecom Argentina's performance has been creditable braving unfavorable conditions in the recent past. Though CAPEX would remain at the elevated levels, the brokerage expects this to help company achieve rapid growth.

At time of writing, ADRs were up 2.84 percent at $18.45.

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